A good question which could be asked here is, why would someone ever become weary of blessing others through doing good to them? A clue to the answer is found again in the same verse - “for in due season we shall reap.” Paul indicates that the blessing cycle is not always immediate acknowledgment from those receiving the blessing at our hands. Satisfaction in helping someone is not always felt; cheerful appreciation is not always rendered for our deeds. Nevertheless, should this cause the Christians to become weary of helping someone just because they do not receive the honor or recognition due them straightaway? God forbid, for if our Saviour gauged His sacrificing life on the response of the people whom He sought to bless then, He would have had plenty of reasons to give up and return to heaven. Paul does not suggest that the reward of being a blessing to someone shall not come, but he instead encourages us to be patient for it, “for in due season we shall reap.”

This delay in the blessing cycle was manifested in the life of our Saviour, for few blessings ever returned His way. What then kept Him from becoming weary in doing good to others? The following verse reveals the answer, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). Notice how the Spirit of Prophecy beautifully expands this verse: “What sustained the Son of God during His life of toil and sacrifice? He saw the results of the travail of His soul and was satisfied. Looking into eternity, He beheld the happiness of those who through His humiliation had received pardon and everlasting life. His ear caught the shout of the redeemed. He heard the ransomed ones singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.”1

Here we are given the secret of endurance in the Christian’s life: FAITH. Through faith Jesus looked beyond the toil of this world, piercing into the glory to come. Through faith He could see the souls who throughout time would accept Him as their Saviour and become saved through His life. It was this vision that gave Him the strength to continue in well doing. This is a realistic fact for us to consider, for if we are measuring our work based on temporal results, then we shall soon be disappointed and ultimately become weary in our work. But if we can lift up our eyes a little higher and see the glory to come, beholding the joy in the face of a soul saved from destruction, we shall surely gather strength to endure to the end.

“We may have a vision of the future, the blessedness of heaven. In the Bible are revealed visions of the future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God, and these are dear to His church. By faith we may stand on the threshold of the eternal city, and hear the gracious welcome given to those who in this life cooperate with Christ, regarding it as an honor to suffer for His sake. . . .

“There the redeemed greet those who led them to the Saviour, and all unite in praising Him who died that human beings might have the life that measures with the life of God.”2

Oh! that these thoughts could inspire us to go and seek whom we can bless, seek whom we can help, seek whom we could encourage even when the blessings seem not to be returned straightaway. “The amount of good thus accomplished will never be known in this world, but blessed results will be seen in the great hereafter.”3 Each soul that will be saved from this sinful world will remain forever as stars upon the crowns of those who worked for their salvation. “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

“Those who have themselves tasted the sweets of redeeming love will not, cannot rest, until all with whom they associate are made acquainted with the plan of salvation. You should inquire, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? How can I honor and glorify Thy name upon the earth?’ Souls are perishing all around us; what are you doing to win them to Christ? Oh, that you would use your powers of mind in seeking to so approach sinners that you may win even one soul to the path of righteousness! What a thought! One soul to praise God through eternity! One soul to enjoy happiness and everlasting life! One gem in your crown to shine forever and ever! But more than one may be won from sin to holiness, and the reward is rich in the kingdom of Heaven. Says the Lord by the prophet, ‘They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.’”4 God never forgets the one who patiently labors for souls, but immortalizes their work forever as stars upon their crown.

One point which needs to be considered regarding the blessing cycle is the motive underlying it. Are our motives in doing well for others to be focused in receiving a reward for our efforts? What should drive the Christian to be a blessing to others and give freely of their means? Again we need to look at God to find the answer. The biblical record declares that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16). This was the motive which caused God to give the greatest blessing ever given to humanity: love, pure unselfish love. He knew that His gift to them would be rejected by many and that Jesus would be murdered by the very ones who claimed to revere Him. Yet the Father’s love was so deep and His motive so fixed that regardless of the consequences He still chose to give. This same motive of unselfish love dwelt in the heart of Christ when He yielded His life on Calvary. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). It is love that should drive us in helping others; it is love which should make us a blessing in this world. There should be nothing more and nothing less than unselfish love to motivate us. We are admonished, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). The following statement summarizes it beautifully:

“Every human being is the object of loving interest to Him who gave His life that He might bring men back to God. Souls guilty and helpless, liable to be destroyed by the arts and snares of Satan, are cared for as a shepherd cares for the sheep of his flock.

“The Saviour’s example is to be the standard of our service for the tempted and the erring. The same interest and tenderness and long-suffering that He has manifested toward us, we are to manifest toward others. ‘As I have loved you,’ He says, ‘that ye also love one another’ (John 13:34). If Christ dwells in us, we shall reveal His unselfish love toward all with whom we have to do. As we see men and women in need of sympathy and help, we shall not ask, ‘Are they worthy?’ but ‘How can I benefit them?’”5

If we desire to be true followers of Christ and continue the great work in blessing humanity, then we need to be filled with a love for souls. It is this unselfish love for souls that shall identify the true disciples of Christ. Jesus says “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34, 35). Oh, that we may be like Jesus; oh that we may be Christians. “Our minds are given us; but our characters we make; they are the result of the lives we lead, the thoughts and principles that we cherish. When we see persons firm in principle, faithful in the performance of duty, zealous in the cause of God, yet humble, gentle, and patient toward all, ready to forgive, manifesting love for souls for whom Christ died, we do not need to ask, Are they Christians?”6

Another important aspect to the blessing cycle of life is, should Christians be quick to make known their labor for others or should they silently persevere in their ministry for souls? “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:1-4).Notice how the Spirit of Prophecy enlarges this principle in relation to the life of our Saviour: “No self-assertion mingled with His life. The homage which the world gives to position, wealth, or talent was foreign to the Son of man. None of the means that men employ to win allegiance or command homage did Jesus use. Centuries before His birth it had been prophesied of Him, ‘He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street’ (Isaiah 42:2). . . .

“The Pharisees sought distinction by their scrupulous ceremonialism and the ostentation of their worship and their charities. . . .

“In marked contrast to all this was the life of Jesus. In that life no noisy disputation, no ostentatious worship, no act to gain applause, was ever witnessed. Christ was hid in God, and God was revealed in the character of His Son. To this revelation Jesus desired the minds of the people to be directed.”7

Are there any true followers of Christ to be found in the church today? As you read this excerpt of Christ’s life, ask yourself, is this my life? Have I made Christ’s life my own? Am I fully surrendered? Is my life hid in Christ? Is my life a blessing to anyone? If the answer is no to any of these questions, then it’s time for us to change, it’s time to step out in faith, it’s time to die to ourselves, it’s time to be a Christian, it is time to live. When the Lord revealed to the apostle Paul that he wasn’t living the life which he should have been, that he was actually fighting against the kingdom of God instead of ministering for it, he made the step, he made the decision to change and gave himself fully without reserve to Christ. He says,“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20).

In the great judgment there is one question which will never be asked of us regarding our Christian life, and, by the same token, there will be one question which shall be asked of us. Notice this powerful statement by the Spirit of Prophecy:

“Many manifest indifference to the cases of those whom God has thrown in their midst for the purpose of testing and proving them, and developing what is in their hearts. God reads. He marks every act of selfishness, every act of indifference to the afflicted, the widows, and the fatherless; and He writes against their names, Guilty, wanting, law-breakers. We shall be rewarded as our works have been. Any neglect of duty to the needy and to the afflicted is a neglect of duty to Christ in the person of His saints.

“When the cases of all come in review before God, the question, What did they profess? is never asked, but, What have they done? Have they been doers of the word? Have they lived for themselves? or have they been exercised in works of benevolence, in deeds of kindness, in love, preferring others before themselves, and denying themselves that they might bless others? If the record shows that this has been their life, that their characters have been marked with tenderness, self-denial, and benevolence, they will receive the blessed assurance and benediction from Christ, ‘Well done,’ ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”8

If we want to hear the words of blessing coming from the lips of Christ, then we need to become a blessing today! The Lord Himself appeals to every heart with the words from His own voice, “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). Tomorrow may be too late for us. “Wherefore, (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts)” (Hebrews 3:7, 8). Today is the day of salvation, today is when we have to say, “Here am I, send me.” Today, brethren and sisters, is the day to live, to live the life of blessing! Amen.